What if you can't get hold of your medical records?
You deregistered from your GP when you moved. Or you've only been in the UK two years and there isn't much of a record to hand over. Or your surgery says it'll be four weeks and your consulate appointment is in ten days. However you got here, you need a certificate and you can't produce your medical records. It's one of the most common problems we're asked about, and for Spain there's a route through it.
Before we start: this article is about the paperwork and the process behind visa medical certificates. It is not medical advice, and nothing here should be used to work out whether you personally have or don't have any condition. If you have a question about your own health, speak to your GP or another qualified clinician.
We write from official sources, including published consulate checklists, government guidance and the legislation itself, and we link to them so you can check for yourself. Those sources change, sometimes without notice, so always confirm the current requirements with the authority handling your application before you pay for anything.
For Spain, yes. A certificate can be issued following a full video consultation with one of our GMC registered GPs, based on the history you give during that consultation. The certificate states openly that your records were not available and that the assessment was based on the consultation and your own declaration.
For Greece and Thailand, no. Those countries ask for things a consultation cannot produce. We won't issue without records and test evidence for either, and we'd be wary of anyone who says they will.
Why Spain is different
This isn't a policy we picked. It comes from what each country actually asks the doctor to do.
Spain asks for a judgement. The certificate states that you don't suffer from any disease that would be a serious public health risk under the International Health Regulations 2005. That's a clinical opinion, formed from your history and an assessment. Spain doesn't require blood tests or a physical examination for it. So a proper consultation, where a doctor takes a full history and asks the right questions, can genuinely support that judgement.
Greece asks for evidence. Tuberculosis documentation and a syphilis test result. You cannot declare your way to a laboratory result, and no conversation with a doctor substitutes for one.
Thailand asks for verification against the specific conditions named in Ministerial Regulation No. 14. Again, that needs checking rather than self reporting.
What the guidance actually says about this
We get asked whether this is allowed, which is a fair question. The short version is that General Medical Council guidance addresses this situation directly.
Where a doctor isn't the patient's own GP, the guidance is to ask the patient for consent to obtain information and a history from their GP practice. If the patient can't or won't provide that, the doctor should explore the reasons, explain the potential impact, and then consider whether it's still safe to proceed. Whatever they decide, they must record that decision and be able to justify it.
The jointly agreed principles for remote consultations, signed by the GMC and the other UK healthcare regulators, put the standard as carrying out an adequate clinical assessment and accessing medical records or verifying important information by other means where necessary. Records aren't an absolute requirement in every case. An adequate assessment is.
There's a second principle that matters just as much. When a doctor writes any report or certificate, they're required to make clear the limits of their knowledge. Which brings us to the wording on the certificate itself.
Why there's a note on your certificate
When we issue on this basis, the certificate says so. It records that medical records were not available, that the assessment was based on a consultation with the patient, and that the patient declared their history to be complete and accurate.
People sometimes worry this weakens the document. It's the opposite. A doctor who quietly certified your health while pretending to a knowledge they didn't have would be breaching their professional obligations. Stating the basis of the assessment is what honest certification looks like, and it's what the GMC requires.
Be realistic about this. A consulate can accept or refuse any document at its discretion, and different consulates apply their rules differently. We cannot promise that a certificate issued on this basis will be accepted, and nor can anyone else. If you are able to obtain your records, that is always the stronger position.
When people usually need this route
You've left the UK already. Deregistered from your practice, and getting records posted internationally is slow.
You haven't been here long. Recently arrived, so there's very little UK record to speak of.
Your surgery is too slow. Four weeks quoted, ten days until your consulate appointment.
Your GP has declined. Non-NHS work isn't something they have to do, and plenty say no.
Your records are scattered. Several practices over the years, nothing consolidated.
What the consultation involves
This isn't a form you fill in while someone skims it later. It's a live video appointment with a GMC registered GP, and it's a proper clinical conversation.
The doctor will take a full history. Past and current conditions, medication, surgery, hospital admissions, mental health, infectious disease history, vaccinations, family history where it's relevant. They'll ask about the specific areas the certificate covers, and they'll ask follow up questions where something needs clarifying.
If anything raises a concern, they will say so. If they don't feel able to certify on the information available, they won't. That has to be possible for the whole thing to mean anything.
Your side of it
The certificate rests on what you tell the doctor. That puts a genuine obligation on you.
You need to give a complete and truthful account of your health. Not the version you think sounds best for a visa application. If you leave something out and a problem emerges later, the declaration you signed is the document that gets looked at.
Worth saying plainly: most conditions don't stop you getting a certificate. The Spanish requirement is about diseases with serious public health consequences, which is a narrow category. People hide things that would never have been a problem, and create a much bigger one for themselves in the process.
Why we say no for Greece and Thailand
We'd rather lose the order than issue something you can't use.
For Greece, the Type D long stay visa needs tuberculosis evidence and a syphilis test result. Those are documents, not opinions. If someone offers you a Greek certificate without them, ask what exactly they're planning to put on it.
For Thailand, the certificate confirms you're free of the conditions listed in Ministerial Regulation No. 14. That's a verification exercise. A self declaration isn't the same thing, and we don't treat it as though it were.
Both of those are the same principle as our position on Thai work permits, where a UK issued certificate can't be used at all. We say no where no is the right answer.
If you can get your records, get them
The no records route exists because people genuinely get stuck. It isn't the better option, and we'd rather you didn't use it if you have a choice.
A certificate supported by your records is stronger, gives the doctor more to work with, and carries no note about limitations. If your practice will release them within your timeline, that's the route to take.
Under UK data protection law you have the right to request a copy of your own records, usually free and normally within a month. Many practices also offer access through the NHS App, which can be quicker than a formal request.
Questions people ask us
Q Will the consulate reject a certificate with that note on it?
We can't promise either way. Acceptance is always at the consulate's discretion. If you can obtain records, that's the safer route.
Q Can you leave the note off?
No. A doctor is required to make clear the limits of their knowledge. Removing it would mean misrepresenting the basis of the assessment.
Q Is this a lesser certificate?
It's the same document, signed by the same GMC registered doctor, after the same consultation. What differs is what the doctor had access to, and that's stated openly.
Q What if I have a health condition?
Tell the doctor. Most conditions don't affect a Spanish certificate at all. Concealing one is far more likely to cause you a problem than disclosing it.
Q Can I do this for Greece if I already have my test results?
Bring the test results and talk to us. The tests are the part we can't do without. Speak to us before booking anything.
Q How do I get my records if I want to try?
Ask your GP practice for a copy under your data protection rights, or check whether your record is available in the NHS App.
Q What if the doctor decides they can't certify?
They'll explain why and discuss your options. The consultation has still taken place, so the fee reflects that, but nobody will issue you a document they don't believe in.
Check any of this for yourself
We'd rather you didn't take our word for it. These are the sources behind what's above.
GMC, on remote consultations and access to records
gmc-uk.org
Joint regulators, high level principles for remote consultations
gmc-uk.org
NHS, on accessing your own health records
nhs.uk
ICO, on your right of access to your data
ico.org.uk
Where this information comes from. We write these articles from official sources: the published checklists of the consulate or embassy concerned, UK government guidance, and the text of the legislation itself. Where we have relied on a particular source, we link to it so you can read it yourself.
Those sources change, sometimes without notice, and different consulates sometimes apply the same rules differently. Everything above reflects our understanding on the date shown at the top of this page.
This article covers the process and the paperwork only. It is not medical advice, legal advice or immigration advice, and we are not immigration advisers. For anything concerning your own health, speak to your GP or another qualified clinician. For what your own application requires, confirm directly with the authority handling it before you order anything or book travel.
Related reading
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